New Tires - 1.5 years old

[MrWzrd]

Anyone else bought new tires recently?

How old where your brand new tires?

Mine arrived yesterday and as I mounted the first one I noticed that the mfg code was from 2012... the week of August 26, 2012.

So I checked the other 4 tires and found one was made the week of June 3, 2012, and the remaining three were made the week of November 18, 2012.

Kinda takes the thrill out of "new" in a hurry.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Who was the Vendor??

[chopo]

next time u buy a new gas grill look at the date on the lp bottles. many are up to 5 years old. they do expire

[Dtolson]

That's not unusual. I buy tires for large trucks and we are constantly sending old "new" tires back to the dealer for ones made more recently. 2012 is not too old to affect the wear or performance of the tires. If they were 5-10 years old, then you could worry.

[MrWzrd]

No need to bring up the vendor at this point....but they are used by many on this forum and I don't recall reading anything bad. My experience with them has been outstanding.

My main question still stands as I am curious to find out if the general inventory of tires for our vehicles is older.

... maybe because they don't make them that often or maybe because everyone drives so few miles that they leave the aged tires on the car because "they still have good tread". (let's face it... I've seen some awful dangerous tires at shows...because the tread was ok.. and it would cost too much to replace for the number of miles they drive so they frugally and dangerously press on. ) FWIW, the tires on the car do not even have a 3 digit date code.... I believe that they were put on in the 60's. (which is about the last time anything was greased )

If these tires are being made on a regular basis then I have every right to expect a current production tire and will request replacements. If there is no "current production" because they are run in "yearly batches" due to low sales volume or something like that.... then I may just have to realize that the cost of the tire is greater since it won't be in service as long before having to be replaced.

Either way I will be speaking to the vendor.

[29er]

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Originally Posted by MrWzrd

Either way I will be speaking to the vendor.

Please let us know "the rest of the story"

Paul Harvey

[Marco Tahtaras]

Next time you hear (first hand) of a Model A tire blowing apart let me know. Personally I've never run a Model A tire tubeless, 80 mph, and under inflated. Of course I'm not a tire manufacturer, having my products manufactured off-shore, having to CMA legally, and benefiting from "the scare" by which I would sell more tires.

I DO have a great deal of experience with tires. I DO NOT have experience with Ford explorers (combined with unquestionably bad tires) which brought this money maker into our modern way of life.

I can guarantee you that is it wasn't for the Ford Explorer fiasco the topic wouldn't even be on the radar map. They ran tubeless by the way. People fear what they don't understand.

[SeaSlugs]

Originally Posted by Marco Tahtaras

Next time you hear (first hand) of a Model A tire blowing apart let me know. Personally I've never run a Model A tire tubeless, 80 mph, and under inflated. Of course I'm not a tire manufacturer, having my products manufactured off-shore, having to CMA legally, and benefiting from "the scare" by which I would sell more tires.

I DO have a great deal of experience with tires. I DO NOT have experience with Ford explorers (combined with unquestionably bad tires) which brought this money maker into our modern way of life.

I can guarantee you that is it wasn't for the Ford Explorer fiasco the topic wouldn't even be on the radar map. They ran tubeless by the way. People fear what they don't understand.

yea ive never had a tire go bad... "modern" car was running tires from the late 80's up until 4 years ago. they were just getting down to the wear bars and then i ran over the rebar in the grass and punctured the sidewall in one of em. $200 later out the door 4 new shoes.

my 02 blazer still has its factory tires on it no issues.

95 s10 had 2 of its factory tires on it until 5 years ago when i decided to get rid of em all as they sucked in the snow

i think one of our trailers still has its tires from 1982 on it... yes they need replaced haha. still hold air with minimal tread on em...

yea the exploder problems of the late 90's were terrible and traced back to firestone having manufacturing defects. doesnt help they were put on a vehicle that seems like it was designed to roll over haha

[poweredbylincoln]

Funny thing happened, tires from americas tires bought in 09 tread left on the tires.
Two tires within 3 or 4 weeks of eachother side walls went out!!
Never had that happen.

Have plenty of older tires running and these ones decided to give way!

[Growley bear]

Originally Posted by MrWzrd

Anyone else bought new tires recently?

How old where your brand new tires?

Mine arrived yesterday and as I mounted the first one I noticed that the mfg code was from 2012... the week of August 26, 2012.

So I checked the other 4 tires and found one was made the week of June 3, 2012, and the remaining three were made the week of November 18, 2012.

Kinda takes the thrill out of "new" in a hurry.

I bought some 19" tires in July of 2013 and they had a 2313 manufacture date. Hope this helps.
The tires I replaced had a manufacture date of 374. They are the whitewalls in the sidebar photo.
Chet

[Marco Tahtaras]

Originally Posted by poweredbylincoln

Funny thing happened, tires from americas tires bought in 09 tread left on the tires.
Two tires within 3 or 4 weeks of eachother side walls went out!!
Never had that happen.

Have plenty of older tires running and these ones decided to give way!

That has become very common with trailer tires regardless of brand. I never heard of it happening until all the trailer tire manufacturing was moved off-shore. The first two I lost were going to Dallas and back and the tires were two years old with less than 500 miles on them when I left home.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I have better luck using car tires on my trailers, as my friend has had several trailer tire failures.

I replace my tires when they are worn out, as in bald.
If the tires are Goodyear Regatta's then they will never see bald because they will have ply seperation or sidewall blowouts before they are half worn. And the Goodyear stores won't give you any warranty or credit.

[Mitch//pa]

most trailer tires are load range D rated and required, if your stopped by truck enforcement or at a weigh station. otherwise you could be asked to unhitch your trailer and leave it

[Marco Tahtaras]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

most trailer tires are load range D rated and required, if your stopped by truck enforcement or at a weigh station. otherwise you could be asked to unhitch your trailer and leave it

Load range D & E tires are bursting BIG TIME. When you catch it early you can see in the shape of the tire that the internal cording has broken free and shifted in an area.

A couple of friends have shifted to LT (light truck) tires with good results. In my case that will require larger wheels and tires which will raise the trailer more than I would like. I may have no choice.

[rons49]

Are you guys using radials on your trailer? I have bias : no problem in 8 years, but they are covered. Lost a valve once in Midland TX and replaced them all with metal ones.

[Bruce,Upstate NY]

Four load range D tires on my Hershey trailer. Three Carlisles bias. One got huge egg, second lost all the tread. third was hot. The lone radial was cool as could be. all properly inflated and not overloaded. Carry two spares.

[jr-41ford]

I'm not sure if it is a state or federal law, but if the date on a tire is older than 10 years, no tires stores will work on them, for any reason.

[Marco Tahtaras]

Originally Posted by rons49

Are you guys using radials on your trailer? I have bias : no problem in 8 years, but they are covered. Lost a valve once in Midland TX and replaced them all with metal ones.

I have to preface this by saying that from day one with a trailer when I've pulled in for gas I first walked around the trailer and felt each tire AND hub for temperature as that will tell a great deal.

I didn't know bias ply "trailer tires" were still available as they aren't readily available in my area. My first trailer was used (18' box) and had been kept in the hot sun in Reno, NV. The original bias ply trailer tires were well weather checked. In 1996 I hauled my car on a nearly 6k mile round trip to Rochester NY, Toronto Canada, and back home. One of the tires got hot in Ohio due to tire pressure, and that was it. The tires were probably made in the mid 80's. I replaced the tires in 2003. The new tires were USA made radials and I had no trouble with them. I don't recall the brand.

I attribute the results to WHEN they were made and the fact that they were USA made tires.

My second trailer was also used but used locally for racing and was less than two years old when I purchased it in 2007 (he sold his race car). The tires still had most of the molding tits on the tread. The tires were an unfamiar brand made in China but were a dead ringer for the Chinese made Goodyear Marathons currently on the market at that time.

I lost the first tire on my way to the Dallas meed in 2008, just outside of Oklahoma City. I replaced it with a Goodyear Marathon from Walmart in Dallas just before we left there. The second was lost just after reentering California on the way home. We used the GPS to find the nearest Walmart and crawled in there for another replacement. Our spare was good but now with only a blown tire for a spare now I was a bit nervous at this point!

I didn't use the trailer much for almost a year and a half when suddenly I had to go 760 miles east to Salt Lake City to pick up some things in the dead of winter. Fortunately the roads were clear and dry. I was a couple hundred miles into Nevada when I pulled into Winnemucca for gas. I did my usual walk around and saw the distorted side wall on the right rear. There was a slight bulge in the side wall and a slight low spot in the "corner" where the side wall meets the tread surface. The tire wasn't even warm! Again to the GPS just to find that the local Walmart was about three blocks away!

I not only replaced the obviously bad tire but decided it was time for the last one of the set to go as well and so I purchased two.

For those not familiar, whether you are Walmart fan or not they strongly cater to travelers with camper trailers and motor homes so they stock tires that most tire places do not.

Now, as I was anxiously moving on to make up for lost time on my endeavor I had looked and realized the newest purchase of Goodyear Marathon trailer tires were "Made in USA" with a subtly different tread design. That made them circa 2005 or earlier. As I was heading East down the highway I was getting angry at myself. Having a far different view than the victims of media scares I was realizing I should have asked if there were two more of the same on the shelf I could purchase them an take them with me. Oh well, another lost opportunity. My life is full of them!

Lastly, it's important to understand that heat is the biggest enemy of tires as with other things. Under inflation is the biggest contributor to excessive heat in tires and high speeds combined with that is second. Little if any of this pertains to Model A's unless you manage to sustain speeds of 70+ mph for long periods with well under inflated tires!

[Ross/Kzoo]

I don't remember if this has been mentioned on this forum or not but on another forum they were talking about the reduced life of rubber products such as rubber bushings, window seal moldings etc. The explanation that made sense to me was the newer rubber is being mixed with "reprocessed" rubber that has gone through the vulcanizing process. Again, to me, it would make sense that the overseas products could/would have some reprocessed product.

[Chris in WNC]

Marco is right on with his protocol of checking temperature of modern trailer tires and hubs frequently.
With Model A tires, your eyes are an important tool. look for cracking in the sidewall and between treads. If you see that, it's time to replace regardless of tread remaining if you drive long highway distances like I do. If your only driving is 30 mph to the ice cream shop or local cruise-ins you can get away with lightly cracked tires but don't be surprised if one goes south on you occasionally. Older tubes seem to be better quality, so I retain them if not checked or repeatedly patched.
We bought our blue Tudor in 2006 with tires that were installed in 1991 but almost never driven. Indoor storage kept the UV light away and they were in excellent shape. I used those tires sparingly on 3 different As over the years and they were still good when sold in 2013.
as always, your results may vary........

[MrWzrd]

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

[1931 flamingo]

No offense but I think Mr Snyder has stepped up to the plate. I doubt if you'd have gotten the same response from owner of a large tire co in the south. JMO Must be nice to have the money to replace tires every 5 yrs needed or not. I'm toying with the idea, but blasting and painting 16" wires plus new tires is more than I can afford this year (long story). The 19's on it from the late 80's will just have to do for another year.
Paul in CT
Paul in CT

[Mitch//pa]

Mr Wzrd,
i assume you purchased goodyear for 180 each.... next time buy direct from kelsey tire, they are a direct goodyear dist and if you have a shop to ship them to they are discounted for a jobber discount. i forget what i paid but approx 150 range and they were current production

[MrWzrd]

Xxxxxxxxx

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by MrWzrd

I checked Kelsey... the price was the same. $180.

its not if you get a shop discount. i did it right over the phone ....
this is good info for others for the future

[Mitch//pa]

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just checked the receipt i was a little off on the high side. we paid 145.80 each shop discount savings of 34.20 a tire. anyone with a shop or a friends shop ask ......
plus the build date on mine were fresh....
hope this info helps others...
KELSEY TIRE

[Marco Tahtaras]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

just checked the receipt i was a little off on the high side. we paid 145.80 each shop discount savings of 34.20 a tire. anyone with a shop or a friends shop ask ......
plus the build date on mine were fresh....
hope this info helps others...
KELSEY TIRE

When exactly did you purchase them?

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by marco tahtaras

when exactly did you purchase them?

7/29/2013